The World's End (film review)

Have you ever wanted to stay in the past long enough where only you remain in a state of delusions, while your best friends moved on from that past? Nostalgia is the main theme in The World's End, a clever, smart film from the people who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. 20 years ago, five teenagers endeavored into a journey of belligerence by crossing the Golden Mile to get to twelve pubs in the town of Newton Haven in Britain. Sadly, their objective was cut, because their ego got the better of them, which, after that wild night was the last time they saw one another. 

           In the present, all but one has evolved into the adult life of parenthood, marriage and business. The other is struggling to fit in around an ever-changing world, struggling to fit in among-st the masses. Let’s just say, he loves to rebel against the present to stay in the past. But, he manages to gather his friends for one night back to Newton Haven, only to realize how much has changed in those last two decades. The pubs they once knew were replaced by corporate chains and ordinary citizens have become sterilized. Counter intuitive to real-life, The World’s End allegory of change is one we all can relate to because, once all of those good times are replaced by something that isn't organic or real, all depth is lost. These people in Haven have sacrificed themselves for a cause to be part of an entity called “The Network,” a group that brings everyone together for a cleaner, purified society that does away with the human race by turning them all into robots. 

          World’s End is right behind 2004’s Shaun of the Dead as my second favorite movie from Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright. What connected me to that film was its self-parody on zombie movies and makes the source material of these uninteresting movies into something more. It also helps that their inspiration for that movie was George Romero, the director of “The Living Dead” series. This movie has some parallels to that movie and some possible other inspirations but much of the material is pretty nuanced within the underlying themes. There’s a slight bobble in the middle portion of the movie that does drag on as the robots became privy of the humans activities and some other characters are a bit underdeveloped, but much of it is a blast, that I didn't care to take noticed of the small flaws. 

          In a year where summer films have come short of expectations because of large budget or simply bad plots, The World’s End exceeds at being  a rare property that doesn't stress the typical. See it with a friend to get a dose of how the British do comedy, these days, they seem to know how to be funny without trying too hard at forcing humor and, while you’re at it, grab a beer for the fun of it.